


Second Bloom

by Overthinkerwrites



Category: Ava's Demon
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Backstory, F/F, Near Death Experiences, Other, Post-Ending, Regret, secret santa gift, time skip, world building
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-25
Updated: 2018-12-25
Packaged: 2019-09-26 18:35:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17146943
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Overthinkerwrites/pseuds/Overthinkerwrites
Summary: You know the saying, 'You never know what you got until it's gone'? Maggie knows this all too well.





	Second Bloom

Maggie actually had to stop herself from adjusting her hair again. It was a habit that she kept reminding herself that it wasn’t worth it.  The ends didn’t matter anymore.  She had her chance and she blew it.   
  
The hum of the engines of the transport ship flared to push against the pull of gravity of the Florani home world. Heat shields up, the ship eased into the atmosphere and within moments, landed at the spaceport of one of the few patches of land that offworlders could hope to gain entry to the planet.   
  
Maggie sighed and got to her feet. With her bag at her side, she disembarked the craft and traversed to the exit of the building. As soon as the doors opened, her sense of smell was overwhelmed with the aroma of the Florani vegetation that covered the entire planet.   
  
Even the pact with Tuls, she knew she was not entirely welcome here. Non-Florani often stuck to the settlements around the space ports that dotted the planet and for good reason. Florani were considered the apex species that took over more  of the galaxies that Titan and Wrathia fought over.   
  
But without either tyrant; the Florani took advantage of the pyrrhic war they fought and, practically, terraformed all the galaxies they got their leafy hands on.   
  
Thankfully, the vegetation parted for her, aware of her partial transformation into one of them. They always seemed to welcome converts from other species, but in the end, they would become just as they were.    
  
From the trunk of one of the larger trees in front of her, what could only be described as a wood-skinned dryad emerged. It was easily the size of a house as it towered over her.   
  
“What brings you here, Flesh and Blood?” The dryad asked with little concern to hide the disdain in her voice.   
  
Maggie swallowed. Even pacted and as strong as she was, she was still nothing when compared to the Florani on their home world.   
  
“I… I bring a message for Rananculae the Garden Root,” compared to her younger days, she had actually learned when and where to lash out.  This was not one of those times, “it is the Last Breath of Tuls Tenebros.”  
  
The dryad scowled. “The Twig who allied himself with the Ashen Vengess? He has no right to speak with her.”  
  
Maggie knew she needed to proceed carefully. “He doesn’t ask.  He cannot.”  
  
The dryad raised an eyebrow. “So, he is wilted.  A pity.” She was about to continue more when she blinked and looked up as if she was spoken to by someone else Maggie could not see. “It shall be done.”  
  
The dryad pointed to the back of the grove and to what was clearly the largest tree on the planet. “Your request has been accepted. Go forth and deliver your message. But make haste. After all, Flesh and Blood is rather ephemeral.”  
  
Maggie nodded. “Thank you.”  
  
The vegetation made a path for her to traverse and though the tree the dryad pointed to wasn’t entirely that far, it was still quite a journey by foot. And of course she didn’t pack anything that would have made the trip faster.   
  
“Not thinking things through,” she whispered to herself, “the story of my life.” She sighed heavily and carried on.   
  
Her steps, while cautious of the environment around her, got progressively heavier the darker her thoughts got. With no one to talk to, Maggie found herself in a conversation with herself, about herself. It wasn’t the most pleasant thing to endure, however, she would have preferred company to the solitude.   
  
Yet, she thought with a grimace, she would be lying if she claimed she didn’t deserve all this. All the stupid things she did in her youth and having learned apparently nothing   
  
“Besides,” she muttered to herself bitterly, “she’s happier now than she’d ever be with you.”  
  
“Excuse me?” Another voice asked which broke her out of her thoughts. It was both soft, but loud enough to toss Maggie off balance.   
  
Maggie blinked and looked up to find herself face to ankle of another Florani. She tilted her head back and noticed not one, but two gargantuan Sunfauna Guards; some of the strongest physical guards amongst the Florani, each the size of a building.  She had also been so distracted, she hadn’t noticed the passage of time, nor that she had reached her destination faster than she would have thought.   
  
“Oh!” She staggered back a bit. The dryad she encountered earlier was large enough. How much bigger did Florani get?!  
  
“You are Magnolia Lacivi, yes?” One of the guards asked innocuously.   
  
“Y-yeah,” she answered, “I think I’m expected by Rananculae the Garden Root?”  
  
The other guard nodded. “You are expected. Please enter.”  
  
Both of them turned aside and the trunk of the tree they guarded opened its base. Maggie could see dimmed lights within, as it was common for Florani, but still felt apprehensive of being such a small person in a world of giants.   
  
Regardless, she walked forward and into the maw of the great tree that would have dwarfed a metropolis.   
  
All around her, plants that glowed like lights illuminated the inside of the tree as she witnessed other Florani, possibly even bigger than the guards outside.   
  
“Dammit, I shouldn’t be scared like this,” she grumbled to herself.   
  
“If it is of any comfort, Magnolia would not be the first to say that,” a newer voice, with a more bearable level of noise, stated as a humanoid figure emerged from the wall in front of Maggie.   
  
Maggie stopped dead in her tracks as she saw Rananculae emerge, gorgeous as those damned paintings Tuls obsessed over.   
  
Still, she wasn’t as imposing as the guards or the other Florani she saw march around everywhere. It enabled her to get her bearings and her composure back.   
  
Maggie then knelt to the ground out of custom for anyone that visited one of the Prime Roots of a Florani world. “Magnolia Lacivi comes with a message for Rananculae the Garden Root.”  
  
Rananculae smiled warmly and acknowledged her greeting. “Magnolia, Flesh and Blood, is welcome once more.”  
  
Maggie got to her feet, aware that she was actually a bit taller than Rananculae… or at least her avatar, like the last time.  If Maggie could remember right, Prime Roots like Rananculae were as large as a mountain, if not a small moon. She merely used this small shape for Maggie’s benefit. And the last time they met was unsettling after she saw Rananculae break down and consume a Silent Scavenger.   
  
The cooperative neural net the Florani had enabled anyone from as large as Rananculae to someone as ‘small’ as the dryad that greeted her, to speak from almost anywhere in the universe. It was why no one trifled with them.   
  
“Rananculae senses foreboding in Magnolia’s heart,” the Florani noted with concern in her shimmering yellow eyes.   
  
“Yes,” Maggie answered with some difficulty to keep the veneer of confidence about her, “if it’s no bother, I’d like to discuss it in private.”  
  
Rananculae nodded. “You may follow Rananculae.”  
  
Maggie did follow her and kept her shock in check as every step Rananculae  took created a step for them to ascend to the higher portions of the tree… or was it Rananculae herself? She wasn’t sure how to ask that properly.   
  
Florani customs were often lost on those alien to their presence.   
  
*  
  
“This is about Tuls, is it not?” Rananculae asked as her avatar took a seat across from her in a hub that almost touched the clouds. At least, that’s what Maggie could see from the holes that could have been windows.   
  
“It is,” she took a seat that had grown out of the ground for her, “you, like most of the Florani, know what happened between Titan and those opposed to him.”  
  
Rananculae nodded. “The Flesh and Blood took arms against the Metal and Blades to secure themselves from tyranny.  Many lives lost.  Florani did not participate until the Metal and Blades threatened Florani way of life.”  
  
Maggie scowled at the memory. “I grew up on a Titan re-education planet.  I had a few problems with the things they tried to do. Not to mention doing nothing about the Scavengers.”  
  
Rananculae smiled lightly. “The Silent Scavengers are no longer a problem. When they attacked Florani, Florani found them. And Florani ended them. Now, the Scavengers are forever silent.”  
  
“Y-yes,” Maggie recalled a Florani ‘pollintaor’, for lack of a better word, literally consume an entire squad of Scavenger craft.  And they were large enough as it was.   
  
“Rananculae digresses. What of Tuls?  Rananculae misses Tuls and knows Tuls has wilted.  You were Tuls’ host when Tuls allied with Wrathia, yes?”  
  
Maggie nodded.   
  
“Can,” for the first time, Rananculae actually looked forlorn, “can Magnolia recite the times when Magnolia first met Tuls?”  
  
Maggie thought back. All those years ago.  It brought the weight of the fact she had now lived far longer than she, when she was human, deserved to live.   
  
*  
  
Maggie, only one year old, stared in awe of the large tree man, who knelt in front of her.   
  
“Can you speak, little one?” Tuls asked patiently.   
  
Maggie only responded with her hands to reach up so he could carry her. She liked the color of his hair.   
  
Tuls sighed.   
  
*  
  
Rananculae giggled lightly, which made the flowers that comprised her hair shimmer.  Maggie couldn’t help but stare a moment at the way she smiled.  It was… nice.   
  
“Rananculae can only imagine what it was like.  Was Tuls accommodating?” she asked excitedly with her hands clasped together.  
  
Maggie smiled sadly. “Yes.  A bit too accommodating. By the time I figured out that only I could see him, I realized that I needed him to vent and I sure did let him hear a lot of it.”  
  
Rananculae laughed again. Maggie found herself entranced by how her laughter seemed to lighten the mood. It certainly was nice to know. Either way, Maggie continued as the laughter died down.   
  
“It wasn’t until I met Wrathia’s host did I realize that something was up. However, I was too young and not aware enough to realize that Ava was a host until much later. Even after… the incident, when Tuls and I made our pact.”  
  
*  
  
“T-Tuls…” Maggie wheezed as she felt her eyesight growing dark as the lynch of reeds seemed to grow tighter around her neck.  
  
“Magnolia!” Tuls, who had been distracted elsewhere, scrambled to figure a plan to rescue his host, as he couldn’t release her.   
  
“Help,” Maggie fought for another breath.  
  
“Magnolia, I cannot help you in this state. The only way I can is with a pact!” He appeared more afraid when the words left his mouth, “I do not know what it will do exactly, however, it is a preferable alternative to this!”  
  
“Tu-” Maggie groaned as her free hand, which tried to reach for him, began to fall slack.  
  
Aware he was left with no other options, he reached for her hand, “we will work the details after, if you pact with me, I will make the wish of your heart come true, if you perform a task for me.”  
  
Maggie loved the stories where the handsome prince came to save the princess from the monster that held her captive. Maybe, she just needed one of her own. That was what she wanted.   
  
With her last gasp, her free hand took his and despite all circumstances to the contrary, her hand grasped his.  Immediately, Maggie felt the life return to her body and when her soul and Tuls’ merged, she could feel the power of whatever Tuls was begin to change her.   
  
Her brown hair turned green, along with the pupils of her eyes and changed into a diamond shape. For a second, the skin on her neck grew taut and forced itself against the reeds to break them.  
  
Maggie fell to the ground and gasped with her other hand to her throat to ensure that she could breathe again.   
  
*  
  
Rananculae was horrified. “What happened?”  
  
Maggie had long since broke the habit of blaming Ava for that. She knew better now… far too late, but at least she knew. “It was Wrathia. She wanted to keep Ava isolated and ultimately kill herself so she could find a better host.  I was lucky that Tuls was my pact mate or else I’d be long dead.”  
  
Rananculae frowned. “How cruel! Rananculae has known Wrathia carried a cruel streak, but this is intolerable!”  
  
Maggie looked to the ground. “That’s… putting it mildly. So, Tuls and I made a pact; I would find the love I needed and I would put his soul to rest by performing a request for him.”  
  
Full of concern, Rananculae closed the gap between then, knelt before Magnolia and took her hand gently. “Has Magnolia fulfilled the pact?”  
  
She smiled sadly and shook her head. “In short; I wasted Tuls’ magic and his life force to make those I had my eye on love me.  Every time, even when the magic worked, it became too much. I wanted to be loved, but it always failed.”  
  
“Has the pact failed?”  Rananculae looked frightened.  
  
Again, Maggie shook her head. “Thankfully, no. I am about to fulfill my part of the pact while Tuls fulfilled his long ago.”  
  
The Florani appeared relieved as she gingerly squeezed Maggie’s hand. “That is good.” She let go and returned to her seat.   
  
“So, now you know why I’m here, it’s time to fulfill it,” she stood and looked Rananculae in the eye, “Rananculae, the Garden Root, Tuls Tenebrose wished to tell you in life that he loved you. However, death and his obligations, and maybe his own fear, prevented him from doing so. He loved you like none other, Rananculae. And regardless of whether you reciprocated or no, he wanted to know that he wanted to live for you. More than anything.”  
  
Rananculae was taken aback by the statement. She then looked down, despondent before she closed her eyes.   
  
“So it was true,” she said more to herself than Maggie, “for everything Tuls did, it all made sense.”  
  
There was a feeling in Maggie’s stomach that made her wonder if she should press further. Perhaps against her better judgment, she did.   
  
“Did you feel the same for him?”  
  
Rananculae, with those shimmering yellow eyes, looked to her for a moment. Her eyes darted away a second before she shook her head.   
  
“No.”  
  
Maggie fought back the wince in her face. She had often discussed the possibility with him of the fact that she didn’t love him back.  And even if he wasn’t there, a part of her felt sympathy for him.   
  
In fact, she knew all too well what it felt like. And it was her own fault.   
  
What she did not expect was to see Rananculae had closed the distance between them again and tilt her head to meet Maggie’s gaze.   
  
“What leaves Magnolia ill at ease?” The Florani asked gingerly.   
  
Maggie exhaled a small sigh as she tried not to notice how beautiful the Florani was up close. “Well, I guess I can understand what it’s like to find out when your feelings aren’t reciprocated.”  
  
Rananculae looked saddened. “If it is not prying, what happened to leave Magnolia so heartbroken?”  
  
She smiled sorrowfully. “It’s not prying.  It doesn’t really matter really. So, I may as well tell you,” she leaned back into her chair as Rananculae sat into another that formed from the ground, “I used Tuls’ magic to make those I had my eye on love me. However, it always ended in disaster, no matter how much I wanted it to be otherwise.”  
  
Her gaze went back to the floor. “Worst of all, I blamed a lot of my troubles on someone that used to be my best friend. And it was even worse when I found out she cared for me, even loved me without the magic.”  
  
“What became of Magnolia’s object of affection?”  Rananculae was genuinely curious.   
  
Maggie’s smile turned rueful. “What else? She found her own happiness.”  
  
*  
  
“Maggie?” she heard a familiar voice ask. She turned to see someone she didn’t expect in the reaches of more civilized space.   
  
It was Ava.  Grown up and, judging by the horns, completely transformed into a Vengess.   
  
“Ava?” She blinked and tilted her head. Truth be told, she had been looking for her, but Maggie would never admit it. It was one of her faults she still had yet to grow out of.   
  
“How are you? How have you been?” She asked excitedly as she took Maggie’s hands in her own.   
  
Maggie missed that touch, if she was honest.  But she wasn’t.  
  
“Oh, I’ve been alright,” she lied through her teeth, “just trying to carve out a niche for myself here and all.  How about yourself?”  
  
Which wasn’t completely a lie, but not exactly the truth either.   
  
“Well, after Titanfall, people wanted to make me a queen or something like that.  But I didn’t want that at all. So, I left,” she shrugged, slightly embarrassed with a look that made Maggie’s heart light.   
  
“I was wondering,” Maggie observed with a smirk, “though, that’s kind of strange.  You were in a position to have it all and you just threw it all away?”  
  
Ava nodded without hesitation. “That wasn’t what I wanted. Though, thankfully, I wasn’t alone.”  
  
“Oh?” Her curiosity was piqued. However, she did have a suspicion, if she remembered who she kept confidence most with.   
  
“No, she wasn't.  And frankly, that was for the best for both of us,” a new voice answered from behind Maggie to walk past her and to Ava’s side.   
  
“There you are, Six,” Ava beamed as she took their hand and they took hers happily.   
  
Maggie was shocked, but at the same time, she wasn’t.  She didn’t want to believe it, because she had hoped to find and repair her ties to Ava and maybe…   
  
When Ava stood up on her tip toes and kissed Six on the cheek, Maggie knew she had come too late. However, if there was one thing Magnolia Lacivi was good at, she could mask how she felt, no matter how awful she was inside.   
  
She forced a smile. “Glad to see you’ve done alright for yourself.”  
  
“I certainly think so,” Six noted casually, as they looked to her, slightly curious for their meeting, but would not press the issue.   
  
“Maggie, would you like to stay a while?  We have a place near here I think you’d like,” Ava offered, her eyes full of life, love, and happiness that Magnolia Lacivi once thought she would have had.   
  
“Thank you, but I’m afraid that I got a previous engagement elsewhere. But since you’re here, I’ll show up every now and then and see how you’re doing, ok?” Maggie fought against the ugly feeling in the pit of her stomach. She silently prayed Ava wouldn’t accept.   
  
“That’d be wonderful,” Ava’s reply made the ache all the worse as she knew she had to get out of there immediately.   
  
She couldn’t remember much else after that, except lying about a previous engagement that didn’t exist and a night session of crying on her bed that night.   
  
For years, she wanted to make it right between them. The picture she had on the inside of her Door of Lust still hung with the now lost promise of them escaping that awful education planet and a new life together.   
  
And it was all gone, now.   
  
*  
  
Maggie found her eyes clouded as she looked to her knees as moisture ran down her cheeks.   
  
“Could have, should have, would have,” she mumbled, “I had so many chances to make amends to her. To make her feel loved like she wanted.  To find that life we both wanted. And now it’s too late.”  
  
She sniffed once and closed her eyes. The ache in her chest came back again as she mentally berated herself for losing what was, ostensibly, the best thing she ever had. Not to mention this display of weakness in front of her host, let alone anyone.   
  
Rananculae said nothing as she stood up, only to sit down again on the arm rest of Maggie’s chair, wrap her arm around Maggie’s shoulders, and hold her close in an embrace Maggie did not know she needed, but knew she wanted.   
  
Maggie sniffed again, while inadvertently took in the fragrance of the Florani.  It was nice she thought as her arm wrapped around Rananculae’s waist.   
  
“Your kindness is wasted on me, you know,” Maggie fought against the gunk in her throat, “I always want what I can’t have, but think if I just hit something hard enough, I’ll get it.”  
  
Rananculae was still silent as she lay her head upon Maggie's. While she wasn’t an expert on Florani culture, Maggie knew that what Rananculae did was akin to a confession of affection.   
  
Maggie closed her eyes and coughed a bit against the emotional distress that left her mind a jumble.   
  
“Why?  Why me?  You’re one of the most powerful Florani in this part of the universe. And I’m just… just a sack of flesh, blood, and regrets,” her words notwithstanding, she leaned into Rananculae’s embrace and held on tight.  
  
“Because Rananculae has seen the kindness in the depths of Magnolia’s heart,” the Florani whispered gently as she started to stroke Maggie’s hair, “Florani have not forgotten the courage Magnolia displayed when she saved Florani from Titan and helped Florani escape.”  
  
Maggie opened her eyes and remembered.  She had chosen to assist some passive Florani from a predatory Titan battalion that was once notorious for ‘conscripting’ non-combatants. It was harrowing. For almost a week, she and a large group of Florani citizens had eluded some of the worst of Titan’s forces.    
  
And they remembered that. Remembered how close she got to a few of the leaders of the group. They listened to her talk nonstop about her hopes and dreams and seemed genuinely interested in her as a person. Sadly, once in the clear, they had parted ways and Maggie was a bit despondent at their departure.   
  
“Magnolia has shone kindness to Florani. And now, Florani can show kindness to Magnolia, if she wishes,” Rananculae emphasized it by a kiss on the top of her head.   
  
The tears in Maggie’s eyes slowly drained as she pulled back slightly to look at Rananculae face to face.   
  
“You,” Maggie swallowed to gather her thoughts, “you would have me? Why? I’m damaged goods, you know?”  
  
Rananculae nodded as a smile, radiant and beautiful as it was, drew across her lips.   
  
“Yes, Magnolia,” she leaned forward and placed her forehead against Maggie’s, “the whole of Magnolia is wonderful, scars and all.”  
  
Maggie wanted to refuse. She didn’t feel worthy of such affection by someone like her. However, she couldn’t deny the prospect of being loved and wanted was very appealing. Especially someone like Rananculae.    
  
“I… “ she tried to vocalize another denial, however, the touch of Rananculae’s skin, the aroma of her hair, and the warmth of her touch put aside those concerns.   
  
“You are far too kind, Rananculae,” she whispered with the Florani’s title all but forgotten.   
  
“Would you like to join the Weave? You would be welcome there,” she offered.   
  
The Weave was the cooperative neural network that allowed the Florani to prosper as they did. And outsiders were forbidden to enter unless it was a convert to the Florani. And since Maggie’s pact had given her aspects of Tuls’ being, she could have entered whenever she wanted, but felt no reason to.   
  
Until now.   
  
She nodded and then took Rananculae’s hand. The latter stood up as she gently guided Maggie to her feet. Maggie felt it a bit hard to concentrate because the brightness of elation in Rananculae’s eyes. Nevertheless, she let her anxiety and concerns go as she allowed her host to gingerly guide her out of conscious space and into the Weave.   
  
*  
  
What Maggie saw was hard to describe. It was certainly different than the mind space she had to share with the other hosts, but this was far less abandoned and lonely.   
  
In fact, she could feel the excitement and joy from many of the Florani as they recognized her as a friend.   
  
A cluster of minds cheered in joy as she realized those were the Florani she had rescued a long time ago. They hadn’t forgotten. While it lifted no burden from her heart, it did soothe an ache in a part she felt she had not known in a while.   
  
But most of all, she could feel Rananculae’s presence, gargantuan as it was, held her protectively and affectionately.   
  
She could never hope to fully return the love she felt, however, being a part of the Florani had unshackled a part of her that she feared had died at one point.    
  
“Rananculae,” she whispered with a bit of apprehension, “thank you for accepting me, though, I hope that what I have to offer in return will be enough.”  
  
“Why is that?”  
  
“I never thought that I could care for anyone else other than the idea of being in love and being loved. To be honest, I am unsure if I know how,” still, she leaned into the presence of Rananculae, “But the fact that you know who I am, know my faults, and still care for me… well, I think I could learn how to feel the same, if you’ll have me?”   
  
The Florani smiled and nodded. “Of course.”  
  
From within Maggie’s soul, she felt something change.  Something warm, something wonderful began to emerge. To her surprise, it was the last Blue Rose she never had a chance to use. As it float before her, it changed from the longing blue to a more radiant white. Yet, it changed again to a wholesome and vibrant red.   
  
As it transformed, she heard Tuls’ voice. “Magnolia. It is true that what you desired manifest in the rose while it was blue, however, for it to change into this means you have found the one that would love you as you are. I hope that this finds you when our pact is fulfilled.”  
  
Shocked, Maggie could feel the sorrow well up once more. She had not treated him the best. However, perhaps, in a way, this was how it was meant to be. He had an insight she could never hope to display and now, she had not only fulfilled his part of the pact, but now her own.   
  
The rose slowly faded away and Maggie felt the remnants of Tuls’ presence fade with it. The pact was complete.   
  
“Are you well, Magnolia?” Rananculae asked with concern in her voice. At one point, Maggie would have scoffed at the idea of her current situation. Yet, Maggie wasn’t at that point anymore.   
  
Maggie then embraced Rananculae back as much as she could. “I am now. Thank you.”

**Author's Note:**

> For ConfiscatedRetina in the 2018 Ava's Demon Secret Santa.
> 
> Thank you for being a wonderful friend. :)


End file.
